Rutgers University
South Dakota State
Women's Basketball to Meet South Dakota State in Second Round of Battle4Atlantis
Nov 19 | Women's Basketball
PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS – The Rutgers women's basketball team (3-2) will continue to the second round of Battle4Atlantis, facing RV/RV South Dakota State on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 5 p.m.
RU will return to Imperial Arena at Paradise Island, Bahamas, for the second of three games the team will play from Nov. 19-21.
On the Call
- The games will be streamed on FloHoops except for the Championship game (ESPN) and the third place contest (ESPNU).
- Jill Painter Lopez (PxP) and Isis Young (Analyst) will be on the call in addition to Dani Wexelman (Reporter).
- Listen on WRSU 88.7 FM
Last Time Out
The Scarlet Knights fell to No. 11/12 Tennessee in the first round of Battle4Atlantis, 94-54, on Saturday afternoon.
Kaylene Smikle led the team with a career-high 16 points. Awa Sidibe paced the team with eight boards while also adding 10 points. Kassondra Brown also netted 12 points to round out the group of three Scarlet Knights in double figure scoring.
Battle4Atlantis
This will be Rutgers first trip to the Bahamas since 2019 when the team defeated Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech to win the Junkanoo Jam Championship. This will be the team's first trip to Battle4Atlantis.
In addition to Tennessee, UCLA, South Dakota State, Louisville, Gonzaga, Texas and Marquette will also be participating in the three-day tournament.
Doubling Up
Three or more Scarlet Knights have reached double-digit scoring in every game so far this season. Awa Sidibe has led the charge, reaching 10+ points in all five contests. RU is 2-0 this season when five or more players reach double figures.
In addition, against Seton Hall (Nov. 11), Sidibe (11 points, 10 rebounds) and Cornwell (10 points, 10 rebounds) both recorded their first double-doubles of their career.
Strong Off the Boards
In all three wins for Rutgers this season, Rutgers has secured more rebounds than its opposition.
The team has recorded 35+ rebounds in four of five outings, including a season-high 50 against NJIT (Nov. 13). The team also earned its highest rebounding margin against the Highlanders, +20.
Chyna Cornwell leads the Scarlet Knights off the boards, with 8.0 rebounds per game.
The Scarlet Knights Against the Top-25
With the release of the AP Top 25 and the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Preseason Polls, RU is set to face seven teams ranked between the two rankings, including six Big Ten and three nonconference opponents:
- No. 4/6 Iowa*
- No. 8/15 Ohio State*
- No. 11/5 Tennessee
- No. 12/11 Indiana*
- No. 19/18 Maryland*
- No. 22/22 Nebraska*
- No. 23/23 Michigan*
*Big Ten contest
Future opponents Princeton and South Dakota State are also mentioned in the poll, both receiving votes.
Other teams mentioned in the Top-25 polls competing at the Battle4Atlantis Tournament include No. 3/5 Texas and No. 6/4 Louisville, UCLA and Gonzaga are also receiving votes. UCLA (31) and Gonzaga (5) are also receiving votes.
Staying Home
The Scarlet Knights will compete in 12 nonconference games this season before jumping into Big Ten play.
Of the 12 games, RU will play eight at their home court of Jersey Mike's Arena, including the first four. The only time the team will leave "On The Banks" will be for three games at the Battle4Atlantis Tournament, held in Paradise Island, Bahamas and to face Boston College for the ACC/B1G Challenge.
Washington Returns to the Big Ten
The Washington era at Rutgers signals the head coach's return to the Big Ten, after serving as the head coach at Penn State for 12 seasons. From 2012-14, the Lady Lions claimed three consecutive Big Ten regular-season titles, becoming one of four programs in conference history to win three or more regular-season crowns in a row. She guided Penn State to two Sweet 16 appearances in 2012 and 2014 while developing 17 players to All-Big Ten status on 32 separate occasions.
Washington earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors three times (2012-14), WBCA Regional Coach of the Year twice (2012, 2013), and was named a finalist for WBCA National Coach of the Year two times (2012, 2013). She was also selected as the 2011 and 2014 Black Coaches Association (BCA) Female Coach of the Year.
Successful Staff
Washington won't be the only new face on the sidelines this season as she named Tasha Pointer, Nikki McCray-Penson and John Hampton assistant coaches during the offseason.
Pointer returns "On The Banks," bringing 18 total years of coaching experience, including eight seasons on the sidelines with the Scarlet Knights from 2007-15. As a player from 1997-2001, Pointer led Rutgers to the 2000 Final Four, the hallmark of a 128-game career that produced program-record totals of 839 assists and 292 steals while scoring 1,456 points. Pointer was inducted into the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008, which was also her first year on the coaching staff that guided the Scarlet Knights to an NCAA Elite Eight, a Sweet 16, and a WNIT Championship during seven overall trips to the postseason.
McCray-Penson comes to Piscataway, New Jersey with 15 years of college coaching experience, most recently as a head coach at Mississippi State and Old Dominion, which followed a standout college playing career at Tennessee, nine seasons in the WNBA and two gold-medal winning performances with Team USA at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics.
Hampton, the former head coach at Clarkson University, has spent the last seven seasons at St. Joseph's, including the last three as the Hawks' assistant head coach. At St. Joe's, Hampton helped lead the Hawks to the postseason twice, an Atlantic 10 Tournament title game, a Hawk Classic crown, and a WNIT victory. Hampton graduated from Mansfield University in 2008, where he joined the men's basketball program as a walk-on and went on to earn the team's MVP twice in 2007 and 2008. He was selected as a PSAC All-Conference honoree as a senior.
Scarlet Knights on the Big Screen
The Scarlet Knights are set for eight appearances between the Big Ten Network and Fox Sports 1.
- vs. Ohio State – Dec. 4 – 12 p.m. (BTN)
- vs. New Orleans – Dec. 18 – 2 p.m. (BTN)
- vs. Maryland – Jan. 2 – 2 p.m. (BTN)
- vs. Nebraska – Jan. 7 – 2 p.m. (BTN)
- at Minnesota – Jan. 12 – 8:30 p.m. (BTN)
- vs. Michigan – Jan. 19 – 8:30 p.m. (BTN)
- at Iowa – Feb. 12 – 3 p.m. (FS1)
- at Wisconsin – Feb. 20 – 8 p.m. (BTN)
- vs. Illinois – Feb. 26 – 2 p.m. *Could be flexed to B1G+
The entire Big Ten Tournament run will also be broadcast nationally.
The remaining 11 home games on the schedule not set to air on TV will be streamed on Big Ten+.
History Against South Dakota State
Rutgers and South Dakota State's first and only meeting came in 2004 in the first round of the Paradise Jam at the U.S. Virgin Islands. Rutgers came out on top, 68-50.
Scouting The Jack Rabbits
After falling to then-No. 21/21 Creighton (69-78) to open the 2022-23 season, South Dakota State bounced back with a pair of wins over Lehigh (91-73) and Mississippi State (63-62).
The team dropped their most recent to RV/RV UCLA, who they defeated to win the 2022 WNIT, 65-72, in the first round of Battle4Atlantis.
Myah Selland and Haleigh Timmer lead the team averaging 16.5 and 10.5 points, respectively. Both have reached double-digit scoring in three of four contests this season. Selland also paces the team off the boards with 6.5 rebounds per game.
Next Up
Rutgers will play its third and final game of Battle4Atlantis on Monday, Nov. 21 at either 5 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.
Follow Along
Follow Rutgers women's basketball on Twitter and Instagram (@RutgersWBB) for all of the latest news and updates. The team is also on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersWBB). For all Rutgers Athletics news follow us on Twitter(@RUAthletics), Instagram (@RUAthletics), and Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics). For additional updates, please download the Gameday App.
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